Opening a ‘Fat Loaf’ restaurant in Didsbury has always been on the cards for Tim Wood and Paul Taylor.

That’s where they first met in the kitchens of the Felix restaurant on the western edge of the village … and they are now returning to Didsbury Green to extend the success of their ‘Fat Loaf’ group.

It was four years ago that Tim and Paul teamed up to launch their first venture in Sale - a restaurant that quickly earned a national newspaper reputation for affordable gourmet food.

A second operation opened in Altrincham, four miles away, at the start of last year. And now they are preparing a third at the former Didsbury Village Restaurant and Steak and Kebab eatery at 846 Wilmslow Road.

An extensive £300,000 refurbishment of the Grade ll listed building - one of the oldest in Didsbury’s original village centre - will be completed for a November opening.

The 100-cover ‘food and drink’ eatery will be more of a ‘meetery’, according to Tim Wood - “because it’s going to be a place where friends can get together, chill out and enjoy a menu of British classics done in our own style.

“The Fat Loaf principle means calling in for whatever you fancy - whether that’s simply a drink from our bar of world beers and wines, a snack from our starter list, a two or three course meal or just a treat from our desserts.

“Whatever the choice The Fat Loaf approach makes it affordable enough to become a weekday habit, not just a weekend treat.

“Our freshest, best quality, locally sourced ingredients, top quality dishes from Michelin-trained chefs, served in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere - are all part of the ‘Fat Loaf’ brand.

“We’ve been looking to extend it into Didsbury for some time, now, because it’s a vibrant, place with cosmopolitan people and a unique identity as a place to live and spend quality leisure time.

“And to get this particular site made the whole thing perfect. It’s one of the village’s great character buildings which is close to the heart of people who live here. It was used by catering college students and there are stories of it once being a bakery … which makes it an ironic base for a new ‘Fat Loaf’.

“We are even looking into the possibility of producing our own range of breads - which really will take the whole story full circle.”

THE FAT LOAF STORY

Tim and Paul will be going back into the kitchen to launch the new restaurant themselves.

Their unusual ‘chef-turned-restaurateur’ partnership began eight years ago when Tim was head chef and Paul was sous chef at the Felix restaurant. When the Lowry Hotel opened in Manchester they were both handpicked for the ‘dream team’ at Marco Pierre White’s River Restaurant

They were there for 14 months until Paul went off to Jersey to the Michelin-star Longueville Manor and Tim left for Malmaison in Manchester city centre.

When Paul returned in 2003 he and Tim set up their own catering business - which funded the launch of the first Fat Loaf restaurant in Ashton on Mersey, Sale.

From breakfasts they moved into themed gourmet evenings and, within 12 months emerged as an acclaimed restaurant with a catering operation for weddings, dinner parties and functions.

Their belief in ‘good food … good price’ and an approach to world beers that put them on a par with fine wines, attracted praise from national food critics as well as local newspapers.

“We are local lads with an international approach to classic British food,” says Paul, “and we’ve come home to Didsbury … where it all began.”

The Fat Loaf, Didsbury Green: restaurant and bar - 846 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2RN; tel: 0161 438 0319; Open seven days a week - 12 noon to 12 midnight.

The Fat Loaf, Altrincham Market: restaurant and bar - 28-32 Greenwood Street, Altrincham WA14 1RZ; tel: 161 929 6700; open Tuesday to Saturday 12 noon to 2.30pm (last orders); dinner from 5.30pm, Sunday lunch from 1pm to 5pm.

The Fat Loaf, Ashton on Mersey village: restaurant -62-64 Green Lane, Ashton on Mersey, Sale M33 5PG; tel: 0161 972 0397; open Tuesday to Saturday 12 noon to 2.15 pm (last orders); dinner from 5.30pm

The UK’s most prestigious dog collar and lead are now on sale … made from hand stitched English bridle leather with sapphires and rubies set in 9-carat solid gold buckles.

With collars starting at £2,950 and leads from £3,300 the aristocratic ‘must buys’ for Britain’s designer pets are being matched with a £4,950 handcrafted jeans belt for the owners.

“It’s just pure style,” says Joanna Way. “All the items are sophisticated and classy with the plain, understated ‘wow’ factor of a single jewel glinting from the gold buckle on handcrafted leather.”

Joanna, an experienced pet product retailer, formed the North West-based Gladstone Collar Company to design and produce the exclusive collar, lead and belt, which will sell separately or for £10,000 together.

They are, Joanna admits, “exclusive ‘top-end’ buys” but, she adds: “something like this almost becomes an investment. It will never be mass-produced so the international market will not be saturated.

“As far as we are aware no-one has ever before put precious stones in the tongue of a solid gold buckle or set them into the edge of a solid gold dog tag.

“Not only are these products a testament to the very best of British craftsmanship, matched by innovative design and the highest quality materials, but we hope they will become as much a design classic as they are a work of art.”

Each item - designed and made by North West specialists - is put together in mid-Wales with finished leatherwork coming in from the English border and buckles from expert jewellers on the Wirral.

The durable collar, of finest English bridle leather, is backed with soft hide, stitched by hand, to offer luxury comfort to the dog’s neck. Curved, shaped collars are also available for hound breeds and whippets.

But this time, the usual metalwork, including D-rings, are solid gold. So too are the buckles, dog tags and clips on two widths of lead - discreetly set with a choice of real sapphires, rubies or, if preferred, diamonds.

And the belts - in navy blue, red, dark Havana brown or black - have solid gold buckles and keepers - with matching or toning gemstones set flush in the buckle tongues - a unique signature of Gladstone design.

“Women or men could, for instance, put a deep blue sapphire in the buckle of a navy blue leather belt or go for a ruby stone with a red leather belt,” suggests Joanna. “And then to match with a similar dog collar and lead makes a bespoke all-British combination that we believe is a fashion ‘first’.”

The range was revealed at a national Champagne launch at the Wirral’s exclusive Grade II listed country house Thornton Manor and went on sale to the public for the first time at Burghley Horse Trials at Stamford in Lincolnshire.

Each sale generates a contribution to ‘Help for Heroes’ - a charity that helps injured service personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. (www.helpforheroes.org.uk)

BORN IN THE DAYS OF DICK TURPIN, GEORGE WASHINGTON … AND CASANOVA

An Altrincham law firm, that began when Dick Turpin was still robbing the rich, has celebrated its 275^th anniversary.

Turpin was 28 years-old and six years away from being hanged for murder when the founder of Keoghs and Nicholls, Lindsell and Harris started a practice that has now become the 25^th oldest in the country.

Celebrations came to a head on Monday, 29^th September (2008) in the Market Street area of town with which Keoghs and Nicholls, Lindsell and Harris has been associated with since timber-framed homes had wattle and daub walls.

“Our story is woven into the history of Altrincham,” says senior partner Michael Sandler. “An anniversary like this is a relatively rare event for any business, particularly in the legal profession, and we’re very proud of our history.

“Four of our partners have been mayors of Altrincham and there have been few businesses, clubs and charitable organisations untouched by our service to the community.”

The branded anniversary includes the publication of a commemorative brochure and a series of celebrations in the former Altrincham Town Hall building.

The firm’s very beginning - on 29th September 1733 - derives from an indenture signed by Isaac Worthington and whose practice eventually grew into Keoghs and Nicholls, Lindsell and Harris. It was his eldest son who negotiated for the Earl and Countess of Stamford when the Bridgewater Canal was about to slice its way through estate land.

The practice’s long association as clerks to local justices goes back to the early days of the town’s 18^th century Magistrates Court. It grew through the arrival of the penny post service and oil-fired street lighting - until a series of mergers created the present firm.

Michael Sandler had trained with Nicholls, Lindsell and Harris before being invited to join nearby Keoghs where he was instrumental in the 1990 merger. There are now two offices - in Market Street, Altrincham and at Commercial Road, Hazel Grove where it still operates under the original name of Gregorys Solicitors.

* * * * * * *

So what else was happening in 1733 when young Isaac Worthington decided to be a lawyer?

• It was a time when courtroom punishment could be measured in lashes of a whip or hours in the stocks.

• Criminals could be executed on a public gallows and their bodies hung in chains for public view.

• It was the year that John Kay patented the ‘flying shuttle’ and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Thirteen year-old James Hargreaves was destined to take things further by inventing the ‘spinning jenny’ … but, at hardly 12 months old, Richard Arkwright had a long way to go before inventing the cotton spinning frame.

• Robert Walpole was England’s first ever Prime Minister.

• Mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton had been dead for little more than six years.

• Young Joseph Fry, aged five, had yet to create the first solid chocolate bar … and eight years-old Arthur Guinness was less than 20 years away from setting up his Irish brewery.

• Abroad … the Italian adventurer and self-professed world’s greatest lover, Casanova de Seingalt, was eight years old too.

• And, at less than one year-old, George Washington had a way to go before becoming the first President of the United States.

The stately homes of England are becoming venues of choice for a new generation of Asian brides. 

Because they are among the few preferred venues that offer enough space for Asian celebrations - which are typically up to five times the size of an average UK wedding. 

So the market interest is growing higher than ever - says leading wedding planner and event specialist Raj Somaiya. 

Raj runs Manchester-based Payal Prestige specialising in large-scale fairytale marquee weddings.  In the last four months he has organised receptions at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Cliveden in Berkshire, Harewood House in Yorkshire and Knowsley Hall on Merseyside. 

“Asian couples don’t just invite family and friends - they invite whole communities,” says Raj, “so a wedding becomes a get-together of almost everyone they have ever known. 

“But we just can’t find enough large venues. That’s why the Asian market is moving towards country estates which have the right amount of space as well as car parks that sometimes need to take over 120 vehicles.” 

The trend is welcomed by Britain’s Historic Houses Association. “We are delighted whenever we can help bridal couples and their families to find the right venue for their wedding,” said President, James Hervey-Bathurst.  

“It is particularly welcome that more and more Asian families see historic houses as the right place for a wedding, because of their romance, tradition, hospitality and spirit of continuity.  That is the way their owners see them too.” 

Places like Capesthorne Hall - set in 100 acres of picturesque Cheshire parkland near Macclesfield and owned by the county’s Lord Lieutenant William Bromley-Davenport whose family has governed it since Domesday times. 

“Couples are growing bored with the same old hotel circuit,” says Nicholas Bromley-Davenport. ”They are discovering more romantic and photogenic places that offer alternative benefits of country space and exclusive privacy.”

*  Payal Catering and Payal Prestige are Manchester-based family-run national businesses offering full bespoke wedding, family and corporate event production - from planning, management and venue finding to décor, theming and catering - serving Indian, Chinese, exotic Indo-Chinese fusion and modern European classics. Tel - 0161 902 0010;  Web - www.payal.co.uk

This Christmas I got around to watching a Russian film that I’d wanted to see for a while - “9^th Company” - a Soviet version of “Full Metal Jacket”.

On the back of the case the plot summary referred to the historical event on which the film is based and the fact that, shortly after this battle, the Soviet Union had “seized to exist”.

Seized?

Now, I know that my alleged “pedantry” is a family joke (the quote marks are there because I always think the word itself infers an unreasonably held view) but … give me a cotton-picking break!

Yes … I am constantly irritated by the increasingly poor use of apostrophes and capitalisation and the confusion surrounding singular and plural verbs. But, above all, I hate the mistakes of so-called “professionals” who have no reason for getting it wrong - unless it comes with a refund.

Especially signwriters!

The other week I followed a van belonging to a cleaning company that specialises in “Offices … Schools … Clinics … Factories” (none of which warrants an initial capital) but, then, even my car ground a gear when we both spotted that last word was spelt … “Factorys”.

I have also seen a tree surgeon’s vehicle that proclaimed “Tree’s are our business” … which is surpassed only by the fast food outlet facing the main road alongside Manchester United’s ground - which sells “burger’s” and “kebab’s”.

I can forgive the amateurish A-board outside a Timperley café that advertised “Maggies all day breakfast” but fee-charging professed professionals should be cast into eternal damnation!

Talking of inappropriate initial capitals, I recently edited a hospital website where doctors were “Doctors” and nurses were “Nurses” and the hospital, itself, was even a “Hospital” … with a “Car Park”.

Companies with managing directors and chief executives always seem to call them “Managing Directors” and “Chief Executives”. And when updating my will recently I saw that, according to my lawyer, I am a “Husband” and my wife is a “Wife”.

Thank goodness for Patrick O’Neill, editor of Cheshire Life, who shores up my shaky sanity by agreeing with my denial of capitals to such institutions as “Cathedrals”, “Churches”, “Bishops” and the rest. “The Queen, the Pope and my Aunt Bessie take capitals,” he says, “everyone else is lower case.”

And that especially includes restaurant vegetables like “Cauliflower”, “Carrots” and “Peas”. So many menus (thankfully excluding the mainly well-written one at Manchester’s Lowry Hotel) seem to think every word takes an initial capital - including “And”.

Technology is sometimes to blame. Bill Gates is probably largely responsible for the default spellchecker gradually introducing the American “z” into words such as ‘organisation’ and ‘materialise’ as well as losing the ‘u’ in colour and honour.

But the main culprit is the growing view of so many people that these things simply don’t matter any more.

They stick to the belief that Manchester Council “have” announced something, the government “have” done something or such-and-such a charity “have” received a donation.

In Manchester, recently, I saw that Slater Menswear “have” moved to a different location.

Oh no it “haven‘t”.

None of these is a plural entity. They are singular and take “has”. Despite appearances, even Marks and Spencer is singular.

There are other things, of course, that bother me less but still have great amusement value.

Like tautology - the grand art of saying something twice - which has crept into our common language to the degree that we no longer question phrases like “forward planning” (is there any other kind?) or the staple promise of the direct mail industry - “free gift” (sometimes FREE GIFT but never, ever, of course, Free Gift). Are there some that recipients have to pay for?

And then there are the common everyday phrases that don’t mean quite what you think they do.

“Decimated”, for instance, does not mean destroyed or wiped out. It means reduced by one tenth. (Dating back to Roman times when, after a poor performance in battle, the punishment killing of one soldier in every 10 was a somewhat unsubtle way of encouraging a higher level of future commitment from the others.)

And “quantum leap” - which is not another way of saying “giant step”. Anything ‘quantum’ is so infinitesimally tiny that it usually can’t even be measured.

Jargon, too, is always good for a giggle. Like the Manchester lawyer who wrote the definition of a “distance contract” as one where there is no “simultaneous physical presence” of the buyer and seller.

Simultaneous physical presence?

For the rest of us that’s a “meeting”.

Now did I hear muttering, from the back row, that sounded suspiciously like “get a life” ….?

Fair enough! But I’m getting out of here before the mobile phone text generation moves into “Senior Management”.

I don’t know David Thame but, if his gloriously grumpy full frontal attack on standards of language in the modern PR industry (and journalism?) is anything to go by, I think we could probably share an amicable pint.

The public relations professionals who have patiently sat through my own training sessions will know my feelings about bad use of apostrophes, capitalisation, singular and plural - as well as phrases that don’t mean what people think they do (‘decimate’, for instance, and ‘quantum leap’).

So I make no apologies for reprinting the following rant from David’s blog. This experienced newspaper and magazine journalist is aiming it at the PR industry but, hopefully, we can all identify with the irritants that lurk behind his fury.

Over to him …

* Please don’t bother with “branding” in the body of the text.

It’s annoying for me and for the sub-editors who have to remove it all. Sometimes we get fed up removing it and simply spike the story.

I’m not going to print, for instance, Fortyspringgardens (one word) simply because someone somewhere has dreamed that up as branding - nor will I print AMEC (instead of Amec) or adidas (instead of Adidas).

It’s not the job of any publication to violate the language to help someone’s marketing strategy. Only proper English words used in the proper way stand a chance…. If your clients insist tell them the story runs a high risk of being spiked and to stop being so daft.

* Congratulations. Oh please, please spare me quotes like this: Norman Halfwit, director at Idiot Developments, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Sh!t Marketing as our fourth tenant.”

Suzy Blonde, director at Sh!t, said: “We’re so happy to bring our expanding business to an Idiot Developments scheme.”

Not only is Sh!t a silly brand name I won’t use - but the quotes add nothing. The day the developer says: “This is a tawdry little scheme and we’re very surprised to see some one daft enough to pay our exorbitant rent” and the tenant says “Our overdraft is staggering and I have these terrible headaches all the time, so we thought what the hell,” is the day I start to use quotes like these.

If it’s just a little story then a little unpretentious (brief) press release will do nicely, thanks. Don’t fabricate daft self-congratulatory quotes.

* Please remember to tell me what your clients do.

Whilst it’s ok for Deloittes not to remind everyone that they are accountants, and no real hardship not to be told that Tesco is a grocer, it isn’t the case that I immediately understand who Hagface Bottombreath LLP are. Lawyers, accountants, procurers of immoral women? I have no idea.

And when you do say who your clients are, please don’t imagine this is an ideal opportunity for salesmanship. If they are architects please say “architects” and not “consultants to the built environment” or, worse still, “the world’s leading consultants to the built environment”  or, more hilariously, “the East Midlands leading consultants to the Built Environment.”

I’ll strike stuff like this out and replace it with “architects” and I promise that no subliminal message of their global greatness will remain.

And whilst I’m riding my high horse at a gallop, might I add: first, that “LLP” and “Ltd” will also get struck out? I’m writing news stories, not legal documents, and besides NO ONE CARES; second, if companies describe themselves, in their own PR, as “major” or “leading” it simply makes me think they are minor and following: let your reputation speak for itself, its much safer.

* Adjectives.

Best avoided unless incontestably true, especially since they are almost always either exhausted old warhorses (prime, prestigious, buoyant) that will never, ever, find their way into copy I’m writing - or simply misleading and wrong.

I’m afraid an office block in Bury or an industrial unit in Stockport is never - will never be - prestigious.

And anyone who can’t think of a better way to describe a busy market than to call it “buoyant” should be invited to check the dictionary meaning or, better still, a thesaurus.

* Don’t play around with quantities.

In other words if your client has completed 24 projects say “24 projects” not “nearly 25 projects” or “more than 20 projects”.

The phrase “more than” is only (only) applicable if the amount “more than” is very small compared with the original number, for instance: more than £1m is acceptable if the price paid is actually £1,001,000. But if the price was £1.1m then say so.

* Picture captions.

Captions like the following are absolutely not acceptable - pictures get junked, and art editors have hysterics, if the are used:  ”Four members of the Idiot Developments team” or “Sally Blonde (centre) and the winning team” or “The new recruits at Sh!t Marketing”. 

What’s wrong with all of these is a failure to comply with this simple rule: YOU MUST IDENTIY EVERYONE IN A PICTURE, BY NAME, LEFT TO RIGHT. 

* Says and said.

Amazing how many people get this wrong. In features people say things, in news stories things were said. Features present tense, news past tense.

* Always use English, not Latin.

This may sound obvious - but the house style of all but the silliest publications insists you use English words, rather than the Latin alternatives, if you can.

So it’s never “per sq ft” (per is Latin), which should be replaced with “a sq ft”, and likewise it’s never “etc” but use instead “and so on.” I.e. and e.g are replaced with “for instance” or “for example”.  

Naturally all convoluted legal phrases based on Latin must be anglicised. Having said this, where a Latin phrase is being used as a Latin phrase, then it’s ok. Ditto for French words and phrases and, on the rare occasions we use them in normal English, Italian, German, and the rest.

(Note that I didn’t say “etc” at the end of that sentence, but I did allow myself “ditto” - Italian, I think, and ultimately from dicere, the Latin verb ‘to say’ - at the beginning, but you’ll be getting the hang of this by now…..)

* Don’t use full stops if you can avoid them.

For instance sq ft and not sq. ft. or, worse still, sq.ft. (without a space). Similarly, it’s Mr, Mrs etc.

* Never use superscript or subscript. So its 10 sq ft and not 10 ft².

* Capital letters are a curse - remember this and you’ve got to the root of modern English print media style.

It is never Director of Marketing, only director of marketing. A development is not a Development. The tax partner is not the Tax Partner. Nobody signs Contracts, only contracts.

In the best publications - including almost all those for whom I write - this policy is carried to what looks like extremes. A meeting of prime ministers - for instance - has no capitals, although the Prime Minister might. So - no capital letters in job titles and never, ever, use capitals for nouns (unless they really are proper nouns).

A unique new PR and marketing partnership is helping businesses to communicate with the most powerful consumer sector in the UK … the almost forgotten over-50s.

And the five specialists, from Stockport, Sale, Frodsham and Upholland, who have teamed up to launch the North West-based Generation consultancy are confident of leading their field … because they are all over 50 themselves.

“We are the old kids on the block,” says Managing Partner, David Wiggins. “We understand the market from both professional and personal angles because we are seasoned professionals who know what makes the over-50s tick.

“So we concentrate on communicating sales messages to a mature market with which younger people in our very youthful industry don’t always feel comfortable.”

Generation is promoting client products and services exclusively to an often underestimated sector that makes up 34 per cent of the UK population, rising to 37 per cent in the next seven years - that’s 22 million people aged over 50. They already account for more than three quarters of the country’s wealth, two thirds of its savings and nearly half of its disposable income.

“They have the most money and their spending power makes them the UK’s fastest-growing consumer group,” says David. “Yet few businesses understand the most effective ways of promoting their products and services to them.

“Generation can offer over 150 years of collective expertise in communication, PR, marketing and business strategy to help clients win a bigger share of this valuable ‘baby boomer’ market.

“And, thanks to the Government’s age discrimination legislation, a significant number in this sector plan to carry on working well past the traditional 65 mark - so they can only grow wealthier as well as older.”

David Wiggins was a newspaper, radio and television journalist for over 20 years before moving into corporate communications with senior posts in the transport and health sectors.

With him, in the Generation team are:

• Marketing and customer service consultant Ric Cowan who spent over 25 years in marketing and 15 years as a director in retail, manufacturing, leisure and gaming, before moving into consultancy.

• Brian Johnson, award-winning managing director of Manchester-based Powell Communications whose PR and media career also includes heading a northern operation for Saatchi and Saatchi.

• Graham King, a former journalist, police press officer during the Yorkshire Ripper murder enquiry and Granada TV publicist for programmes including World in Action and Coronation Street.

• Brian Roberts who has over 25 years of Board level sales, marketing and business development experience ranging from transport and financial services to hotel and leisure sectors.

All five partners will continue their own individual businesses as well as teaming up, in different combinations, for Generation projects.

For further information contact

• David Wiggins      0161 718 5477 / 07899 995918 
• Brian Johnson      07770 841740
• Graham King        0161 976 2729 / 07850 280213             
• Ric Cowan            0161 440 9798 / 07769 671864           
• Brian Roberts       01928 724414 / 07887 678160

Ask most businesspeople what a news release is and their response will probably sound suspiciously like the definition of an advertisement.Because, what they rarely take into account is that most notorious of four letter words … NEWS.

And if no-one else spots the difference the News Editor who reads it certainly will – because they will not print a news release that offers no valid contribution to a news or feature page.

It’s essential, therefore, that copy is presented in the right language and format. And that does not include the bright sparks at Bedford Instruments who once proudly announced that:

“Nitric Oxide is now recognised as a selective pulmonary vasodilator in adults and neonates…”

Anyone who has ever been tempted to work “selective pulmonary vasodilator” into a critical, eye-catching, ‘intro’ paragraph probably doesn’t need to be told what a “neonate” is. For the rest of us … it’s a baby. But if we needed to refer to a baby in a news release we’d probably call it a baby … errr, wouldn’t we?

Another personal favourite is the thrusting professional, in the press office of Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire, who allowed personal confusion to spill into a news release describing parkland trees that had been …

“provided and planted by specialist approved contractors Landmark Design and Build of Staines or Chertsey or something like that in North Surrey near London where there are silver birches and golf courses and things.”

No wonder the media is often derisory about news releases!

So what’s the solution? Well … it’s part creative and part mechanical.

First – find the news angle. What’s different? Not from a corporate point of view but for the person in the street? And, most importantly, what will the media consider different … and, therefore, newsworthy?

Second – gather the appropriate information to “stand up” the news angle.

And then – present it in a form that gives the story the best possible chance of being published.

Easier said than done sometimes – even for professionals!

STYLE

Aim for a clear, reader-friendly, mid-market style.

If you’re targeting a particular publication and can demonstrate a basic knowledge of their copy style then it’s a good idea to do so.

(A piece of university research showing that pulse vegetables contain an ingredient that induces wind was headlined by the Daily Telegraph along the lines of “Pulses cause flatulence – research reveals” while the Sun captured the essence with “Beanz meanz fartz”.)

INFORMATION

So, what sort of information do you need to begin?

Who - are you writing about
What - are they doing?
Where - is this taking place?
When - is it happening (past events should be left dateless. On no account say “recently” – which tends to flag up an out-of-date story.
How - is it being done?

… and Why.

Somewhere in this information you will, hopefully, find your news angle.

PRESENTATION

Keep your news release crisp, concise, objective, factual … and in plain English. Avoid being overtly promotional. (Tip - keep opinions within the spokesperson’s quotes.)

The intro is the most important paragraph because it’s an attention-grabber that briefly describes what the story is about and makes people want to read on.

Keep paragraphs short - and the whole release should be no longer than 400 words or so.

Watch out for tautology – such as “the business was first founded.” (Tch tch!)

Use singular and plural correctly. “Trafford Council have announced …”, “the company have said …” are singular in both cases - so use “has”!

Try to avoid jargon. I once re-wrote a technical feature that described a “simultaneous physical presence”. Got that one? (It was a “meeting”!)

And I’ve been known to write to newspapers about apostrophes! Mediaeval torture techniques would be too good for the signwriter who wrote that one of the fast food outlets beside Manchester United football ground sells Burger’s and Kebab’s. Good grief!

Date the release at the end. Give a contact name, telephone number and, if appropriate, an e-mail address.

Now you’ve finished it … who can you send it to?

That, as they say, is a whole different story.